Posts Tagged ‘www.dictionary.com’

According to the Oxford English Dictionary online, the word profane “carried the meaning of either “desecrating what is holy” or “with a secular purpose.” Usage of the term was discovered as early as the 1450s.

profanity

\ pruh–fan-i-tee, proh- \, noun;

the quality of being profane; irreverence.

profane conduct or language; a profane act or utterance.

obscenity.

Other words you may consider using (depending on your context/usage, of course):

Here is a word from the English jackboot, meaning “a popular style of leather boot,” + a suffix signifying a past participle, -ed. As exemplified in The Highly Selective Dictionary of Golden Adjectives for the Extraordinarily Literate.

“When the jackbooted crowd roared into town, women gripped their purses tighter and ordinary men did their best to find shelter without allowing themselves to appear fightened.”

jackbooted

\ jak-boo-tid \, adjective;

wearing jackboots, especially those who ride motorcycles.

brutally and oppressively bullying.

Source: The Highly Selective Dictionary of Golden Adjectives for the Extraordinarily Literate by Eugene Ehrlich and http://www.dictionary.com.

Here is a word from the English xeno-, a combining form meaning “alien, strange”; from the Greek xenos, a combining form meaning “a stranger, guest, alien, foreigner.” The word is completed by the English -morphic, from -morphous, a combining form meaning “having the shape or form of.” As exemplified in The Highly Selective Dictionary of Golden Adjectives for the Extraordinarily Literate.

“It was not until the very end of the expedition that they came upon strata yielding the predicted xenomorphic rock specimens.”

Today’s word describes animals that produce live babies instead of reproducing through eggs. And while the category of animals that are viviparous includes mostly mammals, some fish and insects have this trait as well.

Here is a word from the Old Norse vaga, meaning “to sway”; from the English wag meaning “mishievous lad; habitual joker.” As exemplified in The Highly Selective Dictionary of Golden Adjectives for the Extraordinarily Literate.

Growing up in a household where homemade bread was the norm, I’m quite familiar with the yeasty smell that would permeate the house during the pre-baking process. However, I was totally unaware of the many other definitions of yeasty. Now I know.